Why Friday the 13th: The Game needs an NES Jason DLC

The original Friday the 13th video game on the NES is very underrated and deserves an homage as DLC for Friday the 13th: The Game.

I just really don’t care what people say. I love LJN’s Friday the 13th video game. First coming out in 1989, it has since gotten a lot of flak from retro game reviewers. A lot of people have complained about its difficulty level and confusing map system, among other issues. Still, it’s one of my favorite childhood games, and I say it’s under-appreciated.

Accurate? Yes. But I still spent so many hours of my life playing it.

To this day, I still have a vivid memory of Jason killing me my first time ever playing this game. Within seconds after starting, Jason surprised me outside and slaughtered me with axes before I even knew what happened. I was then taken back to the character select screen, but with the person I chose before now missing. It was very clear that this counselor was dead.

I might have been little, but that was a horrifying moment. One that’s stuck with me ever since. Dying in other games never bothered me — you just fall through the bottom of the screen and try again. There was something about actually dying in the Friday the 13th game that just made it more intense than other games at the time.

Credit: Nintendo/LJN

Though it did lead to the most depressing game over screen ever.

And it doesn’t matter what anyone says about Jason’s color scheme. I, for one, love the turquoise and purple colors and the unique appearance it gives Jason. People have made fun of this in years past, but more and more people are now seeing the genius in it. In fact, it’s even had action figure representations made fairly recently.

While the new Friday the 13th: The Game is going to probably be my new favorite game of all time, I still haven’t forgotten about the 1989 original. And I would absolutely love to see some kind of DLC pack made by the developers that pays homage to this underrated NES gem.

Obviously, you’d have to at least have the NES Jason skin. Killing counselors in that suit would really feel like coming full circle. And there are also tons of things they could to to add little nods to the game. Such as playing that extremely haunting “cabin music” every time a counselor steps into a cabin. If you’ve played the game, you know that tune is scarier than freakin’ Jason himself.

Hell’s soundtrack.

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During one of their PAX panels, the F13 game team said the NES Jason wasn’t something they currently had the rights to. As LJN has since went under, they weren’t even sure who did have the rights. But if NECA was able to work it out for the action figure, then I’m confident the Gun guys can too.

Photo Credit: NECA

I’m definitely willing to throw money at the Gun Media team if they’re willing to make a turquoise and blue Jason. Considering the cult following the game has, I’m betting lots of other people would too. In any case, see you guys at the campgrounds when the game releases on May 26.